Unknown Rarities
by hhwgv
Summary: On his way back to Beacon Hills, Derek picks up a hitch hiker who just happens to be looking for him. What happens when he finds out that they were meant to find each other all along? Reviews are appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

The afternoon sun beat down on the empty stretch of highway, the humid heat settling like a quilt. As far as Derek could see, it was just flat land and clear skies. There was something about being the only car on the road that made him feel uncomfortable, like he shouldn't be there. In the distance, he saw a figure on the side of the road. At first he dismissed it as a mirage, it was just the heat that was causing him to see things, but as he got closer, he could see that it was a girl. Her long, black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she had a button-down tied around her waist. She was carrying a backpack that looked like it was over-filled. He slowed down and pulled up beside her. "Do you need help?" He called through the open window. "Did your car break down? Do you need a ride somewhere?"

"Where are you headed?" the girl asked as she approached the car, leaning over so she could get a better view of Derek.

"I'm going to California," Derek answered, studying the girl's face. She had to be in her late teens or early twenties, he thought.

"Me too," she replied. "Want a travel buddy? I can pay you for gas," she offered. Derek agreed and unlocked the car door, watching her closely as she sat down and threw her backpack in the backseat. "I'm Kira," she told him as she put on her seatbelt.

"Derek," he responded. He didn't know what he was doing. He had never picked up a hitch hiker before, and he'd never intended to. Usually he just pretended he didn't see them when he drove past, so why had he stopped this time? Maybe it was because it was a girl, or maybe it was because of the blistering heat, but either way, it was a new experience for him. "So…" he started.

"You want to know why I'm hitch hiking to California, don't you?" Kira guessed.

"Yeah… I mean, you're young and pretty… couldn't it be dangerous?" Derek went on, "What if I was some kind of murderer?"

"Well, Derek, _are _you a murderer?" Kira teased. "And besides, the situation I was in was just as dangerous." When Derek gave her a questioning look, she continued, "My parents got involved in with some pretty sketchy people a few years ago. When my dad skipped town, they came after my mom and me, threatening to kill us if my dad wasn't back soon. So my mom told me to run and never look back, so that's what I'm doing. I need to get as far away as possible. I'm just hoping they don't come looking for me."

Derek sat in stunned silence, trying to figure out something to say. "Wow… uh, that's intense," he finally managed. "Are you going to a specific town?"

"Yeah, I think it's called Bacon Hills, just wait," she dug around in her pocket for a while. "Oh,_ Beacon_ Hills, not Bacon Hills," Kira laughed.

"That's where I live… Are you looking for someone in particular?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, I forgot to write down the name, but I'm pretty sure it was Erik Hale. Or maybe it was Drake… I really shouldn't trust my memory," she sighed.

Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that he'd stopped for this hitch hiker. There were no other Hales in Beacon Hills. "Kira, I think you're looking for me, Derek Hale…" he said cautiously.

There was a moment of tense silence. "Well, you're definitely not what I expected," she laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean? And why are you looking for me?" Derek's eyebrows were drawn together in confusion. What could she possibly want from him?

"I guess I was expecting someone a little more… intimidating, I guess," Kira answered. "You seriously don't know why I'd be looking for you?" She squinted at him, trying to read his face.

"Hey! I _am _intimidating," Derek protested. "And no, I have no clue why you were looking for me," He added, noticing the look of surprise that flashed across her face. "What do you know that I don't?"

"We should maybe talk about it when you're not driving. It'll be a lot to take in," Kira warned. "Why don't we stop for food in the next town and have a little chat?"

Derek agreed and they drove in silence. He just wanted to know what was going on. He hated being out of the loop, and it made him nervous that the stranger he just met knew something about him that he didn't. They finally reached the next town and stopped at a small diner. Derek got out, eagerly waiting to hear whatever it was Kira had to say.

They chose a booth in the far corner of the diner and after they had ordered, Derek looked at Kira expectantly. "So?"

"I'm not entirely sure where to start," Kira laughed nervously. "I always assumed you would know about this, but I guess you didn't find the letter… My mom's name is Noshiko Yukimura. She was a close friend of your mother, Talia. You and I are both rarities. I am a Thunder Kitsune, there are only three of us in the world. I always assumed you'd know why you were special, so I didn't really bother to remember it. I'm sure it's in your letter. Anyway, our mothers knew there would come a time when they couldn't protect us any longer, so they agreed that once that happened… we would need to protect each other. Individually, we're both powerful, but together we're practically invincible… Do you get what I'm saying?"

Derek stared at her for a while, trying to absorb what Kira just said. He didn't know anything about a letter, he didn't know that he was special in any way other than being a werewolf. "So, our mothers wanted us to be a team?" He finally managed.

"I guess that's one way to put it," she shrugged. "Basically, our moms arranged for us to be married."

Derek choked on the water he'd been trying to swallow. "Married?" he sputtered.

"I can't believe they didn't tell you about this," Kira shook her head. "My mom gave me the letter when I turned fourteen." She pulled a folded envelope out of one of the pocket of her backpack and handed it to him.

He carefully removed the yellowing paper from the envelope and unfolded it. "We're 'destined for each other' and can be 'the greatest force on Earth?' I… but… wh… I guess we'll have to look for my letter when we get back to Beacon Hills," Derek finally managed. No one in his family had ever mentioned anything about an arranged marriage or him having some sort of special ability, but his mother's signature was on the bottom of the letter. Just because they were _supposed _to get married didn't necessarily mean they _had _to… maybe it would be okay if they were just really good friends.

After they'd finished eating, Kira and Derek both agreed that they should try to put this out of their minds until they were in Beacon Hills and could find the letter Talia had left for Derek. The rest of the drive, he found himself stealing glances at Kira. She was beautiful, there was no denying that, and she seemed like someone he'd like to be around, she talked enough for the both of them, babbling on about different things nearly the entire ride. Her voice was pleasant to the ears and she was interesting enough that he actually paid attention to what she was saying.

When they finally turned onto the exit towards Beacon Hills, it was late. Derek could tell that Kira was exhausted. It had been a long day for both of them. "Do you just want to go to my place and find the letter and everything tomorrow morning?" Derek asked, glancing over to make sure Kira was actually awake.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Kira mumbled. "I'm pretty tired. Would you mind if I took a shower? I feel a little gross from being in the sun for so long."

"Yeah, no problem," he replied. He grabbed Kira's backpack from the back seat, his bag from the trunk, and opened the passenger door for her. He led her to his apartment and dropped the bags on his couch. He motioned towards the bathroom, "If you want you can take either a bath or a shower. There are towels under the sink. If you need anything, just let me know."

After Kira had shut the door, Derek let himself sink down onto his bed and rubbed his temples. This was one of the weirdest days he'd ever experienced, and that was saying something. He wasn't really sure how he was going to explain this to Scott and everyone else, especially when he didn't even understand it himself. He changed into comfier clothes and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "Hey, Ki…" he'd looked up when he heard the bathroom door open, not expecting Kira to come out in no more than a bra and underwear. He gulped, "Why aren't you wearing clothes?"

"I didn't pack anything to sleep in… would I be able to wear one of your t-shirts or something?" Kira explained. Derek stared for a minute before snapping out of his haze and getting her a t-shirt.

"Uhm, here you go," he handed her a light blue t-shirt. "You can sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the couch," he offered.

"You don't have to do that! There's plenty of room on the bed for both of us." She laughed when she noticed his apprehensive glance, "Don't worry, I'm not going to try anything. It'll be more comfortable than the couch."

"Are you sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything," Derek protested.

"Yes, Derek, I'm sure. It doesn't make me uncomfortable," Kira assured him. She went back into the bathroom and brushed her hair back in a ponytail. "So do you want the side near the wall or the edge?"

Derek let Kira choose first, so she chose the side closest to the wall. They turned out the lights and lay down. They weren't even laying that close together, but Derek could feel the warmth of Kira's skin, still dewy from her shower. She felt like a magnet, drawing him towards her. He'd never met someone like her before. They both felt so comfortable around each other, like they were already best friends.

/

The next morning, when Derek woke up, he had Kira wrapped up in his arms, her head against his chest and a slight smile on her lips. He didn't want to wake her, so he just closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but he was interrupted by someone yelling, "Derek! Time to wake up! We were supposed to…" Scott stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Derek. "What are you doing?" he dropped his voice to a whisper.

Derek was about to answer when Kira stirred. "Oh good morning, Derek," she smiled and sat up, noticing Scott. "Oh. Hi," she said before quickly running into the bathroom.

"Okay, who's that?" Scott asked, staring after her.

"She's… a friend," Derek answered. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Well, she looked like more than just a friend," Scott replied, eliciting an eye roll from Derek. "And we were supposed to have breakfast this morning, but obviously you had other plans."

"Look, can we do this later? This really isn't a good time," Derek sighed.

"Okay," Scott agreed. "Dinner tonight, and bring your new friend."


	2. Chapter 2

Derek was sitting on a barstool in the kitchen when Kira came out of the bathroom. She was still wearing his t-shirt, her hair falling loose around her face. Self-conscious, Derek ran a hand through his own hair, trying to smooth it down a little bit. "Sorry about waking you up," he apologized as she came to sit beside him. "Uh, that guy was Scott… I'm in his pack. He likes to have meals as a group sometimes, we were supposed to have breakfast today. But he changed it to supper and he wants you to come."

"I know," Kira smiled. "I was listening through the door." She hopped off of the stool and went to pull some clothes out of her backpack. "So? When are we going to go look for your letter?" She asked, pulling on a pair of denim shorts.

Derek didn't want to watch, but he couldn't help it as Kira pulled off his t-shirt and put on a black tank top. "Um… I was just going to shower," he answered when he remembered she'd asked him a question. "We can go right after… If you want breakfast, you can take a look in the pantry, there should be some cereal or bagels or something." He went to the bathroom and got into the shower. He couldn't stop thinking about how nice it'd felt to have her in his arms. He didn't know if she would bring it up, or if he should mention it.

He wanted to shower for much longer than he did, but he didn't want to keep Kira waiting. Derek walked out of the bathroom with a towel hung low on his hips. He could feel a slight smile creep onto his face when he noticed Kira staring at him. He took his time getting dressed, he could practically feel her eyes on him the whole time.

"Okay, I'm ready to go if you are," Derek announced, pulling on his leather jacket. Kira got up and followed him and he continued, "The letter will probably be in the family vault, so we'll go check there." They got in the car and sat in silence for a little while. "So, what do you want to do about the living situation? I mean, it's cool if you stay with me, I just don't know if you'd rather find your own place."

"Um… I actually haven't thought about it," Kira answered. "I was just focused on getting here."

"I was just wondering, you can definitely stay with me. I mean, we're going to have to get used to living together if we're going to, you know…" he laughed nervously, "get married."

"Yeah," Kira giggled. "Hopefully your letter has a bit more information than mine does."

They walked down the metal stairs into the dusty vault and turned on the light. It was full of shelves and cabinets, neither of them were quite sure where to start. They decided to start on opposite sides of the room. Derek looked through stacks of old books and yellowing paper but he didn't see anything with his name on it. He glanced over at Kira and saw her sitting on the floor beside one of the old filing cabinets, leafing through the various files. "Anything?" he asked.

"Not yet," Kira replied. "But from what I've seen, you have quite the family history." She'd gone through drawer after drawer and hadn't found anything yet. She'd read a lot about Derek's family, and it only made her more curious about Derek. After an hour of searching, she found a folder labelled _**Derek + Kira. **_There were four different envelopes inside. "Hey, Derek. I think I found it," She called over her shoulder. She opened the one with _Kira _scrawled on the outside and found a copy of the letter her mother had given her. She felt Derek hovering over her shoulder as she opened the next one. There were a bunch of photos of them when they were younger. "Aww, look how cute we are," Kira smiled.

"Adorable," Derek responded as she flipped to a picture of them kissing each other when he was about six. Kira laughed as she put the photos back in the envelope.

"I think we should open the one that just says _"Derek" _first," Kira suggested, handing him the envelope. She watched him intently as he carefully opened it and unfolded the letter inside. "What does it say?" she urged.

_Derek,_

_I'm writing this letter to tell you about something very important. You might not understand at first, but we're doing what's best for you._

_You are special, Derek, more special than you know. You are not an ordinary werewolf, you have power that hasn't been seen in hundreds of years. _

_Every few centuries, a werewolf comes along that possesses great qualities, such as yours. You are magic, son. With patience and practice, you will be able to fully harness these powers. We first noticed the magic when you were a baby. There were times when we walked into your room to see you hovering above your crib, or we'd hear you crying but we couldn't see you. You are what's known as an avi-wolf, which means that you have the abilities of flight and invisibility on top of typical werewolf abilities._

_We have arranged for you to marry Kira Yukimura. I can't say much more, in case this letter falls into the wrong hands, but you two are destined for each other. Together, you have the potential to be one of the greatest forces on Earth and are virtually indestructible._

_Much Love,_

_Mom_

It had both of their mothers' signatures on the bottom, just like Kira's letter. "Alright," Derek said after reading and rereading the letter a few times. "Let's read the next one."

"Are you sure? I mean, just that letter is a lot to take in. Neither of us have any idea what's in the other envelope," Kira warned.

"Yeah, it's better to do it all at once," Derek muttered.

"Okay… but can we do this somewhere a little less… creepy?" she looked up at Derek, giving him her best puppy-dog look.

"Yeah, sure. We can always come back if we need to," he mused as he helped Kira up off the ground. She closed the filing cabinet and followed Derek up the stairs.

They drove back to Derek's apartment and put the letter down on the table. They sat beside each other, both too nervous to open it. "So… we should… we should open it," Kira suggested.

"Yeah," he responded. "You can do the honours." He slid the envelope closer to her.

"Okay," Kira inhaled deeply. "Let's do it." Her hands shook as she carefully opened the envelope. She pulled out the letter and gently placed it on the table, then dumped the rest of the contents out into her hand. "Rings," she stated, showing them to Derek. "Are you sure you don't want to read it?"

"No, you can do it," he laughed nervously. Kira sighed and unfolded the letter.

_Derek and Kira,_

_We know that this won't be easy to understand, but you two are destined for each other. After the passing of the last known avi-wolf, a prophesy was foretold. It is said that the next avi-wolf will be the most powerful, but he can only achieve maximum strength when paired with an equally powerful, rare creature, a fiery fox._

_The wording of the prophesy is clear, you will be at maximum strength when your relationship is one of the strongest relationships there is: marriage. While arranged marriages aren't the social norm anymore, we believe that it is in everyone's best interest. The stronger your bond, the stronger you'll be._

_Derek: to learn more about your power, there should be a blue book with the word "Avi" written on it in our vault. With Kira's help and the book, you should be able to learn to control it quickly._

_Kira: you are already incredibly powerful on your own, but with Derek you will be unstoppable. In the vault, there is a book on thunder kitsune and the power you have that you may not know about._

_The rings we included were forged from one of the rarest of metals. You two already share a special bond, and these rings will only help your bond grow. Even at a young age, your connection is strong and apparent._

_You have so much potential individually, together, it increases exponentially. You have the power to change the world. We trust that you'll do the right thing._

_Love,_

_Noshiko Yukimura_

_Talia Hale_

Derek and Kira sat staring at the rings and the letter for a while, neither quite sure what to say. It was clear that they were expected to get married, but they weren't sure where to start. "So…" Derek broke the silence, "do you want to get married?"

"Is that your proposal?" Kira laughed, "I expected more of a show… do _you_ want to get married?"

"Only if you want to... I'm in if you are," Derek replied. "I mean, it's worth a shot, isn't it? If we could change the world… you know…"

"Yeah… I guess. I mean, I've known that we were supposed to get married since I was 14," Kira told him. "You're not what I expected, in a good way. I thought I'd be stuck with some arrogant jerk, so I'm totally in."

"Really?" Derek smiled. "Should I?" He offered the ring to Kira. "Or, do you want this?" he got down on one knee.

"Oh, stand up," Kira giggled as she took the ring and put it on her finger. "What are you going to tell your pack? And _when _do you want to get married?"

"I hadn't really thought of that… what do you think I should say?" Derek asked. "And whenever you want to get married would be fine… I don't know how any of this stuff works."

"Maybe we could just say that we're old friends and… after reconnecting recently, we realized that we wanted something more…" Kira suggested. "I don't know how this stuff works either, so maybe we can just wait to make any specific plans."

"Yeah," Derek nodded. "That sounds great. Do you want to go grab those books from the vault?"

"I'm actually pretty hungry. Why don't you go get the books and I'll make us lunch?" she offered. "I'm actually a pretty good cook."

Derek agreed and drove back to the vault. He was nervous about getting married, but excited about the potential he and Kira had. It felt weird knowing that there was a prophesy about him and that he could be so powerful. He knew that Scott and everyone would ask questions, and he wasn't sure if he could tell them the truth. Especially if he and Kira were both so rare, he didn't know if it was a good idea to tell anybody about it.

He searched through the stacks of books, he knew that he'd seen the blue book when he was looking before. He was really curious what it would say, and how he would be able to use these new powers. When he found the book, he put it on the stairs so he wouldn't forget it. He wasn't sure exactly what Kira's book would look like. It took him over half an hour, but he finally found a small green book with gold lettering and an outline of a fox. He opened it to double check and a slip of paper that had Kira's name on it fell out of the pages.

Derek grabbed the books and hurried back to his place. "Hey, Kira!" He exclaimed as he came in the door. "I got the…" he stopped short when he saw Scott and Stiles sitting on his couch. "Hey guys," he said, putting the books down on top of Kira's backpack. "What are you doing here?"

"We just wanted to see how you're doing. And it looks like you're doing really well," Stiles smirked, eyeing Kira.

"Oh, hi Derek," Kira grinned as she walked out of the kitchen, a stack of plates in her hands. "I hope you don't mind if they stay for lunch. Scott said you were expecting him."

Derek glared at Scott, "Oh, did he? Kira, can I talk to you in the kitchen?" When they were in the kitchen and out of view of Stiles and Scott, he whispered, "How long have they been here? And what have you guys talked about?"

"They got here shortly after you left. They just asked how we knew each other and I told them we were childhood friends… Is Stiles in your pack? He's not a werewolf is he?" Kira murmured.

"Okay… yeah, Stiles isn't a werewolf, but he's Scott's best friend," Derek explained. "What did you make? It smells really good."

"Oh, uh, I made chicken Caesar salad and my special grilled cheese with tomato soup," Kira replied. "I hope it's enough for all of us. Can you grab some cups?" She grabbed the pot of soup and the plate with grilled cheese and set it down next to the Caesar salad on the table.

Their conversation during lunch was pleasant, Kira was great at dodging questions she didn't want to answer, or questions she and Derek hadn't discussed. Derek knew that he spent most of the meal watching Kira, and he knew that Scott noticed, but he didn't really care. If he was going to have an arranged marriage, he was happy it was with Kira. There was something enchanting about her. Maybe it was because they were "destined for each other" or maybe it was because he knew about the prophesy, but when he looked at Kira, it wasn't hard to picture himself falling in love with her.


	3. Chapter 3

When Scott and Stiles left, Derek and Kira both agreed that they should read the dusty old books he had brought from the vault. Hopefully the books would be able to give them some guidance so they'd have a clearer understanding of what they were actually supposed to do. Derek sat down at one end of the couch and flipped open his book, curious to learn about being an avi-wolf. Kira lay down across the couch, putting her head in his lap. "You don't mind, do you?" She asked when he looked down at her in surprise.

"No, not at all," Derek smiled and turned back to his book. He kept trying to concentrate, but he couldn't help getting distracted by Kira's head on his thigh. Concentration was important for an avi-wolf, that's what the book said, at least. He had a hard time concentrating on the book, but it was easy for him to concentrate on the delicate pink of her lips and the way her brows drew together when she was trying to concentrate.

"You know I can feel you watching me, right?" She told him, not looking away from her book. "It's one of my special "abilities," I guess you'd say."

"W…what? Really? No, uh, I…I didn't. Sorry," Derek stammered, prying his eyes away from her face. He could feel heat rushing to his cheeks. There was a moment of silence before he added, "What does it feel like?"

"I'm not really sure how to describe it. Usually, it's sort of like a… tug, I guess, from whatever side they're on. I don't know if that makes sense," Kira replied, sitting up. "But with you it's different…" She murmured shyly.

"Oh? How so?" Derek pried, cocking his head. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that," he added quickly, noticing her hesitation.

"No, it's okay…" Kira ducked her head. "When you look at me, it feels like a caress instead of a tug… wherever you're looking feels warm and I get butterflies in my stomach," she looked up, her eyes meeting his briefly before she stared down at her hands. "Sorry, it sounds weird."

Derek closed his book and turned to face Kira. "No," he assured her, gently lifting her chin so they were face-to-face. "That doesn't sound weird at all." He brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. "Ever since we met, I've felt something drawing me towards you." Before he knew what he was doing, he had his lips pressed against hers. She hesitated for a moment before kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer to his body. He could feel both of their hearts fluttering.

"I think the prophecy was right," Kira breathed as they pulled apart. "Maybe we actually are destined for each other." She giggled, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Yeah," Derek murmured, "maybe we are." He kissed Kira again, feeling her smile against his lips. He peppered soft kisses across her jaw and down to her neck, where he licked and nipped at the sensitive skin.

"We should get back to reading," She whispered, her breath warm against his ear. "You have a lot of learning to do," She smiled, standing up. She gave him a chaste kiss before adding, "I'm going to get some water, do you want anything?"

"I'm okay," he insisted, turning his head to watch her walk to the kitchen. He turned his attention back to his book. He was a fast reader, so he was already almost halfway through. So far, he'd learned a lot of definitions and technical terms, he was just starting the chapter that would teach him the power of flight. He knew he'd have to go back when he actually started trying to use his special abilities, but he wanted to read through the entire thing first. When Kira came back to the living room, she set her glass on the coffee table before sitting down beside Derek, folding her legs beneath her body and leaning against his shoulder.

Derek looked over when he heard Kira close her book. "Did you finish already?" he asked.

"Yeah," She laughed. "My book isn't quite as thick as yours… and it wasn't all brand-new information... When are we supposed to go to Scott's?"

"I was thinking we could head over there around six," Derek answered, glancing at the clock. "Why?"

"Oh, I was just thinking maybe I could do a bit of baking, you know, bring some desserts to win them over," Kira replied.

"Yeah, if you want. I'm not sure I have any of the ingredients you need to bake anything, but if you want you can take my car to the grocery store," Derek dug in his pocket for his keys. He gave Kira instructions to get to the store. He could hear her boots clacking on the stairs until she was out of the building. He smiled to himself, turning back to his book.

Kira took a few wrong turns, but she found the store eventually. She knew that she wanted to make cupcakes, but she hadn't decided on a flavour. She was standing in the baking aisle, trying to choose, when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Scott walking towards her with a pretty brunette that he introduced as Allison.

"How do you like Beacon Hills so far?" Allison asked, giving her a friendly smile.

"Well, I haven't even been here a day," Kira laughed, "but it's nice to come back. I lived here until I was about seven."

"Really?" Scott exclaimed, surprised. "How old are you? If you don't mind."

"Yeah, really," Kira responded. "I'm 21 now, why? Were we in the same grade?"

"I think so!" Scott grinned. "I knew your name sounded familiar… So what are you shopping for? Is Derek here too?"

"Huh, sorry… I don't remember you. Derek's at home, I just came to get ingredients for cupcakes. I was actually planning on bringing some to dinner tonight, if that's okay," Kira replied.

"Oh, that's actually perfect. I can cook, but I'm not so great at baking," Allison told her. "Nothing I make ever turns out the way it's supposed to. Something always seems to go wrong," She laughed, checking her phone. "But we'd better go, I've got a dinner to make. See you later!"

Kira waved as they walked away. She decided to make basic vanilla cupcakes with different flavours of icing. She grabbed what she need and hurried back to Derek's place, getting lost on the way. He was still reading when she walked in, so she put the keys down on the table and set to work on making the cupcakes, hoping they'd turn out perfectly.

Derek smiled to himself when he heard Kira humming along to the music she was playing. Whenever he glanced at her, she was doing some sort of dance that he thought was adorable. He was distracted by the delicious scent filling the apartment and Kira, but he only had a few chapters left, so he did his best to stay focused on his book. She was taking the last pan of cupcakes out of the oven when he finally read the last page. "It smells great," he commented, sitting down on one of the barstools. "What kind of frosting are you making?"

"Thanks!" Kira beamed. "Right now I'm making chocolate, the blue over there is vanilla. Then I want to make a caramel frosting as well."

"I'm sure that will be delicious," Derek assured her, sneaking a bit of the vanilla frosting when she was gathering ingredients for the caramel frosting.

"Hey! Did you stick your finger in my frosting?" she playfully chided.

"No," he smirked, his finger still in his mouth. Kira giggled as she mixed the frosting. Derek watched as she frosted the cupcakes, making it seem effortless, each one looking identical to the one before.

"So," Kira started as she was frosting the last few cupcakes, "are you going to tell them about the marriage, or are you going to wait?"

"I think we should wait," Derek answered. "They should get to know you a bit before we tell people we're getting married… Unless you want to…"

"No, that's fine, I was just curious," Kira told him, carefully placing some of the cupcakes into a container.

Derek was actually feeling a bit nervous about introducing Kira to everyone. He knew that they'd like her, he just didn't know what she'd think of them. But she'd already met Stiles and that seemed to go smoothly, so he figured it would be okay. He was just afraid that Stiles liked Kira a little too much. He knew that he shouldn't feel jealous or protective over Kira, they'd just met yesterday, but he didn't want Stiles flirting with her like he did with every other girl.

When they arrived at Scott's house, everyone else was already there. All eyes were on Kira when she walked in. "Hey, guys. This is Kira," Derek announced. "Kira, you already know Scott and Stiles. And this is Isaac," he motioned to the boy sitting down beside him and went around the room, "Liam, Erica, Boyd, Malia, Lydia, and Allison."

"We actually met at the store earlier," Allison smiled. "Those look delicious. I can put them in the kitchen for you," She offered, taking the cupcakes from Kira.

While they were waiting for dinner to be ready, Kira was bombarded with questions: where was she from, how did she know Derek, how long was she staying, etcetera. "So, Kira," Stiles started, "are you single? We should go out, I can show you how to really have fun in Beacon Hills." He winked.

"Uh, not really," Kira laughed nervously. "I don't thi…"

"Shh," Stiles interrupted. "I'm sure the guy won't mind if we hang out, have a little fun," he lightly stroked Kira's arm. "I'll make you forget about the other guy. It'll be just me…"

"Stiles!" Derek snapped. "She's engaged!" He immediately wished he could take back what he'd just said. Everyone's eyes were on him and Kira.

"Who's the guy? Someone back home?" Stiles asked, leaning back in his chair.

Kira looked at Derek, obviously surprised. No more than an hour ago he'd told her that he _wasn't _going to tell everyone, and now he'd just blurted it out. "It's me," Derek said, mustering as much confidence as he could and taking her hand in his. "Kira and I are getting married," he smiled and gently traced his thumb across her hand. The announcement was met with a chorus of congratulations, pats on the back, and a jealous look from Stiles.

After they'd finished eating and put whatever dishes would fit into the dishwasher, the girls went to sit in the living room and talk, while the guys sat back down at the table. Derek had a hard time keeping his eyes off of Kira, she effortlessly fit in with the rest of the pack. He liked knowing that she knew he was watching her. Every so often, she'd look at him and they'd share a knowing look before she turned back to her conversation. She looked so comfortable, like she'd always been part of the pack.

"So, I'm assuming she knows about the werewolf thing," Scott remarked. "And you're definitely not "just friends" like you said this morning."

"Yeah, she does," Derek chuckled. "We weren't really sure we were going to tell you guys today because it's your first time meeting her. The engagement happened pretty quickly, I guess."

"I'll say," Stiles piped up. "But a few of us actually have met her before, when we were in elementary school."

"Yeah, she was Stiles' first crush," Scott added tauntingly.

The evening went by quickly. Kira's cupcakes went over well, Boyd even suggested that she should always bring a dessert. "Your friends are really great," Kira commented on the drive back to Derek's place. "I hope you don't mind, some of the girls are going shopping tomorrow and they invited me. And Lydia offered to help plan the wedding," she laughed.

"Of course I don't mind," Derek exclaimed. "And that doesn't surprise me, Lydia's always liked planning parties… Do you know _when _you'd like to get married? I'm just curious. I don't think we should wait _too_ long, you know, because of the prophecy, but it's completely up to you."

"Maybe October?" Kira suggested, "Or did you want it sooner? I don't really care either way."

"I was thinking August… summer wedding," He laughed tersely, "but October is good too."

"No, if you want to do it in August, I'm okay with that, I just didn't know how long you wanted to wait," she smiled at him. He was just about to say something when she cut him off, "August it is," she decided.

When they got home, they were both exhausted, but they decided to watch a movie before they went to bed, settling on a comedy they'd both seen before. Derek wrapped his arm around Kira's shoulders when she leaned on him, her head resting against his side. She was absentmindedly running her fingers up and down his thigh, tracing different shapes with her fingertips. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been close to someone and felt as comfortable as he did in that moment. Kira was warm and gentle and, although he had only really known her for a day, he knew she was someone he could trust.

Once the movie was over, Derek laid down while Kira went to brush her teeth. He was almost half asleep when he felt her crawl into bed. Her hair tickled his cheek as she leaned over and pressed a warm kiss to his lips. "Goodnight, Derek," She murmured into his side as she curled up against him, arm slung across his torso.

"Goodnight, Kira," he whispered back, the minty taste of her toothpaste on his lips as they curved into a gentle smile.


	4. Chapter 4

After Kira had been in Beacon Hills for a few weeks, she and Derek started to work on his newfound avi-wolf abilities. They'd read and re-read the book on avi-wolves from the Hale family vault and, after some serious searching, they'd managed to find the prophecy their mothers had mentioned. Combined, the two texts had given them a lot more insight into what it was they were supposed to do. They started practicing every day- well, whenever they could. They were keeping it a secret for now, Derek still wasn't sure that it was a good idea to tell anyone, including the pack, about his abilities.

They hadn't told the pack about Kira being a thunder kitsune yet, either. The pack was aware of Kira's knowledge of the supernatural and her skills in hand-to-hand combat, but they'd explained it by saying that her family was in charge of protecting the supernatural, so long as they weren't killing humans. Thankfully, no one questioned it.

Derek was impressed at how well Kira fit in with the rest of the pack. A few of them were hesitant at first, especially because of the sudden engagement, but after spending time with Kira, and trying some of her delicious food, it didn't take long for them to come around. She'd grown especially close with Lydia, they spent a lot of time together planning the wedding, which was just over a month away. Derek left everything up to them. He didn't know anything about weddings and he only gave his opinion when they explicitly asked for it.

Besides, practicing this avi-wolf stuff took up most of his time. He practiced whenever he was alone, and he and Kira spent at least two hours practicing together every evening. Derek was stronger when Kira was around. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that, if everything went the way it was supposed to, he would be able to _fly._ That was every kid's dream, and now he had the potential to make that dream come true. He had elected to work on the invisibility first, it was what the book recommended.

"Come on, Derek. You can do it," Kira urged him. It was their eighth session and, while Derek was getting better, he still hadn't been able to make himself disappear completely. "You're almost there," she smiled, eyes wide. She stared at Derek, well, the outline of him. She could still see parts of him, but she could also see the chair behind him.

"I can't," Derek grunted, collapsing onto the chair, fully visible. "I'm sorry, Kira…" he buried his face in his hands. "I'm just not strong enough," he muttered, barely audible.

"Hey," Kira murmured, gently pulling his hands down, "Look at me." She knelt down in front of him, craning her neck so they were looking into each others' eyes. "You are strong enough, I know it," she insisted. "I know how tired you are, we've been at this for almost three hours, but just try one more time," she squeezed his knee. "Please? For me?" Kira stood up and planted a warm kiss to his lips.

Derek pushed himself to his feet and squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. "Alright," he muttered, "I can do this." His fists were bunched together by his sides. He focused on the knot he could feel tightening in his gut. When he looked down, he could see that it was working. _"Stay focused," _he told himself, paying attention to the knot in his stomach. He could feel the tension spreading to the rest of his body.

"Just a little more," he heard Kira encouraging him. It sounded like an echo, he could barely hear it. Derek grimaced, his body was wound so tightly that it felt like he was going to break. Suddenly, he felt his body tick and squeeze and heard Kira gasp. "Derek! You did it!" Kira grinned. "I can't believe it!"

Derek stumbled to his knees when he became visible once again. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving. He felt Kira's hands on him. She had one on the middle of his back, one on his chest. He looked up at her. "I did it," he breathed, a big smile stretching across his face. "I actually did it!"

"I knew you would," Kira kissed his cheek and helped him to his feet. He stumbled a little bit when he took a step. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah. My legs are just a little tired," he replied, wrapping his arm around Kira's shoulders. She helped him into his car and drove back to his apartment. Derek didn't like feeling weak, but he appreciated all of the help Kira gave him. She always seemed to know exactly what he needed, sometimes before he did. She led him up the stairs and into bed, gently kissing his forehead before going to get him a glass of water.

Kira set the glass down on the night stand beside the bed. "You did such a great job today," she whispered, crawling over him to get to her side. "If you keep going at this rate, you'll be an avi-master before we even get married," She giggled, pressing her lips against his.

Derek laughed, trying to keep his eyes open. "Thanks, sweetie," he mumbled. "It's because of you."

Kira wrapped her arms around him and snuggled against his chest. Her head rose and fell with his breathing. She knew he was already asleep, learning this avi-wolf stuff was exhausting for Derek, but she was proud of the progress he'd made in the past week. There was still a lot more that he had to learn and Kira was determined to be there for him the entire time. After they got married, they would both be even stronger. They'd both need to work at it, of course, but their senses and abilities would be heightened further than they already were.

Derek's even breathing lulled Kira into a peaceful sleep. When she woke up the next morning, he was still fast asleep and probably wouldn't wake up for a few hours. She carefully eased herself out of the bed, making sure she didn't wake him. She flitted around the apartment, making herself breakfast, cleaning, doing a bit of laundry, before settling down and watching TV quietly.

Kira felt Derek's eyes on her. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she called from the couch before heading to the kitchen to make him breakfast. She poured him a cup of coffee and put it on the breakfast bar as she warmed up the skillet.

"You always know what I want," Derek remarked, taking a sip of coffee. He sat on one of the barstools, slouched over the counter, still half asleep.

"Hey, wake up," Kira teased as she set the plate down in front of him. "Breakfast is served." Derek ate in silence, watching Kira as she cleaned the dishes. He loved how she always seemed to be dancing to whatever song she had in her head. "Are you going to Scott's boys' night thing tonight?" she asked, leaning towards him over the counter.

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll stay late," Derek mumbled. "I was thinking we could go practice at 11:00…"

"You should take a night off, Derek. You deserve it," Kira offered. "You did so great yesterday, you've earned it."

"I really think we should keep practicing," Derek replied. "I managed to do it once, I have to keep trying so that I don't lose it."

"Okay, so why don't we go practice now? Then you can take a nap in the afternoon, be rested for Scott's boys' night, and maybe get a normal night's sleep tonight," Kira suggested.

He nodded, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Just let me get changed."

Derek managed to make himself completely disappear on the first try. The more times he did it the easier it got. "Should we see if I can extend it?" He asked.

"Extend it? As in… try to make me invisible? Are you sure you don't want to wait for a day when you're more rested?" she responded.

"Yeah, I want to try it right now," He said, taking her hands in his. "We just need to focus and keep eye contact." Derek felt the familiar knot in the pit of his stomach and tried to let his energy flow to Kira. She felt the tips of her fingers tingle. The tingling extended up her arms and down the rest of her body. "It's working," he whispered, like talking any louder would break his concentration.

Kira kept her eyes fixed on his, not sure if looking away would wreck it. "Can you see through my head?" she murmured, a grin spreading across her face.

Derek smirked and nodded. "I'm going to try harder." He could feel the knot tightening, but it didn't seem to make a difference. An idea flashed through his mind and he leaned down and pressed a soft, warm kiss to her lips. He felt jolt of electricity when their lips met, it echoed through his entire body. When he pulled away, they were both completely invisible. "It worked," he breathed.

He heard Kira giggle and closed his eyes, making them both visible again. Derek collapsed against Kira afterwards. "Are you okay?" She grabbed him and held him up so he wouldn't fall.

"Yeah, that just took a lot out of me," he replied. "I think we should quit for today." Kira agreed and she helped him back to the apartment.

"I'll make lunch," she told him when they got home, "something quick and light so you can take a nap. Just sit down, watch some TV."

He sat down on the couch, struggling to keep his eyes open. He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, Kira was shaking his shoulder and handing him a plate with a sandwich on it. "Hey, I hope you don't mind that the girls are going to come over later," Kira said as Derek took his first bite.

"Yeah, that's fine," Derek mumbled, mouth full of food. After he was finished eating he laid down on the couch, resting his head on Kira's thigh. She ran her fingers through his hair absentmindedly, massaging his scalp as she watched whatever home improvement show was playing.

Derek jolted awake when there was a sharp knock at the door. Kira laughed quietly and helped him sit up before she went to answer the door. "Hey, Lydia," Derek could practically hear her smile. "Come on in."

"Hello, Derek," Lydia smiled, setting the large binder she was holding down on the table. "Aren't you going to Scott's?"

He glanced at the clock and realized that he was already late. "Oh, yeah," He answered scrambling to grab his wallet, keys, and jacket. "See you later, sweetheart," he murmured before giving Kira a chaste kiss and running out the door.

"Cute," Lydia commented. "Honestly, I always thought that Derek would be a perpetual bachelor, but I'm glad he found you. You two really seem like you're meant for each other." She opened the binder, which was full of all sort of wedding ideas and cut out pictures from bridal magazines. Kira sat down next to her and they started trying to figure out the flower arrangements.

Allison, Malia, and Erica arrived shortly after. They ordered pizza and watched some dumb romantic comedy where the main character falls in love with a ghost that lives in her apartment. Kira liked chick flicks, but this one was just ridiculous. They spent the entire movie talking about how awful it was and making jokes about the bad acting.

The rest of the evening was spent discussing the wedding and various celebrities that they had crushes on. They gossiped about the guys a little bit, too, which ended up with them telling embarrassing stories about Stiles. Before the girls left, they planned another shopping excursion and Lydia agreed to come by the next day to do more wedding planning.

/

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Derek announced when he got to Scott's house. "I overslept."

"Until six in the evening?" Scott laughed. "What do you and Kira do all night?"

Derek just took his head and sat down, he wasn't even going to dignify that with an answer. He and Kira shared a bed, but nothing sexual had happened yet. Derek was content just cuddling with her or kissing her, having sex had barely crossed his mind.

"So what are you and Kira going to do after the wedding?" Boyd asked. "Are you going to move? No offence, but your place right now is a bachelor pad. It's not for newlyweds."

"We haven't even talked about that," Derek answered. "Maybe, I don't know. I'm leaving most of the decisions up to Kira. Especially with wedding stuff… all of that is up to her and Lydia. I don't really care whether the tablecloths are white or cream."

After they had supper, they played a card game that Derek couldn't remember the name of. He couldn't help but notice that Stiles was acting weird towards him. They were sitting beside each other, but Stiles practically had his back to Derek the entire time, he didn't even look at him. He knew that Stiles used to have a crush on Kira, but that had been _years_ ago, back when they were in elementary school. When they were leaving, Derek pulled Stiles aside. "What's wrong with you?" he frowned. "You've been acting weird all night."

"I'm tired of you rubbing your relationship with Kira in my face," Stiles snapped. "I was in love with her since Kindergarten, even after she left. In high school I tried to track her down and I couldn't find her. The first day she was here and we were at your place, I knew it was her and I thought that it was fate bringing us together, but then I find out you're getting married." He spat out the word married like a curse word.

"Look, Stiles, I'm not trying to rub anything in your face. I admire your dedication to this girl that you barely knew, but she didn't even remember you. I'm sorry that things didn't work out the way you wanted them to, but you can't blame me for that," Derek replied calmly. "Kira and I have always had a connection, even when we were young, and I'm not going to apologize for that. I love Kira. We're getting married. You need to accept that."

"I know," Stiles sighed. "You're a lucky man, Derek. Treat her well," Stiles clapped him on the shoulder before getting into his jeep.

Derek knew he was lucky. Even though it was technically an arranged marriage, he knew that he wouldn't have been able to find someone like Kira. They were perfect for each other. They'd only had a few squabbles, mostly about trivial things, but for the most part, they were on the same page.

When he got back home, Kira was asleep on the couch with the TV on mute. He carefully picked her up, hoping he wouldn't wake her, and laid her down on the bed. He changed into his pyjamas and crawled in next to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to her chest. She made a little contented noise and snuggled closer to him. He pressed a kiss to her hair before he closed his eyes and fell asleep listening to her breathing and the steady beat of her heart.


	5. Chapter 5

Kira was starting to worry about Derek. He spent every waking moment learning and practicing his hidden abilities. She was impressed at his dedication and persistence, but she knew that his body wouldn't be able to take much more. No matter how hard she tried to convince him to take a break, he was determined to keep trying. She did all she could to help him. "Derek, you really need to take a few days off," She insisted as she helped him out of bed one morning. "You're wearing yourself out."

"No," he shook his head. "I can't. I want to know all of this as quickly as possible."

"You're putting too much stress on your body. You need to rest, gather your strength. Then, the next time you try, you'll be even better," Kira replied gently. "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you."

"Fine," Derek sighed, lowering himself down onto the couch. "I'll take some time off."

"Good," Kira smiled, kissing the top of his head. "I have to go to the grocery store, I'll be back as soon as I can," she put a glass of water and a muffin down on the table beside Derek. She handed him the TV remote and pressed a kiss to his lips. "See you in a bit."

She got to the store and grabbed a cart. She was perusing the produce section when she heard a familiar voice. "Kira? Kira, is that you?"

"Dad?" Kira gasped, rooted to the floor in shock. "Wh…what are you doing here?" She hadn't let herself think about her parents since she'd arrived in Beacon Hills. She knew that she couldn't go back to check on them and, unless her dad had gotten back in time, her mother was probably dead. She couldn't think of any reason her dad would be here and she didn't really want to see him. If he hadn't run away, her mom would still be alive.

"When I got home, your mom… she was…" he cleared his throat. "I had a feeling you'd come here, and I needed to make sure you were safe. I'm so happy," he moved in to hug her, but Kira blocked him.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. "Mom is dead because of you. As far as I'm concerned, you're dead too." Kira spun on her heel and stormed off, ignoring her dad's calls as she walked away. She grabbed the rest of the groceries that she needed and quickly drove home.

When she got inside the apartment and slammed the door shut, causing Derek to jump. "Are you okay?" he asked, pushing himself up off the couch. "What's wrong?" he insisted as she put the groceries away angrily. "Hey, come here," he murmured, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him.

She collapsed against his chest, unable to hold back the hot tears stinging her eyes any longer. She sobbed uncontrollably into his t-shirt. Derek had his arms wrapped around her, holding her up. He gently led her to the couch and they both sat down. "Sorry," Kira croaked, wiping her eyes. "I just… my dad is here… my mom is… she's dead because of him," she sputtered before she broke down again. Derek didn't say anything, there was nothing he could say would make her feel better, he just held her close and rubbed her back.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Derek offered, struggling to his feet. When he opened the door, Scott, Allison, and Stiles were on the other side. Before he knew what was happening, they had pushed their way in. "Guys, this really isn't a good time," he insisted. "Why are you even here?"

"You invited us over for a game night last week," Scott reminded him. "And Kira said she was going to make her top-secret chocolate chip cookie recipe."

"I think we're going to have to re…" Derek started.

"It's okay, Derek," Kira called feebly from the couch. "Let them in."

"Okay," Derek stepped to the side and made a sweeping motion with his arm, "come on in. Take a seat at the table, I'll be right there." He walked to the couch and sat down facing Kira. "You don't have to do this today," he whispered.

"No, I want to. It'll be a nice distraction," Kira sniffed, wiping her eyes. "Can you tell that I've been crying?" she smirked, knowing that her eyes were red and puffy.

"You look beautiful," Derek murmured before leaning in and gently kissing her lips. He grinned at her when he pulled away, "We should go entertain our company."

"I'm just going to go fix my make up," Kira said, standing up and walking to the bathroom. There was another knock on the door before Lydia, Malia, and Isaac entered the apartment.

"Did you guys eat supper?" Derek asked while the newcomers sat down at the table. None of them had, so he decided to just order some pizzas.

"So Kira, where are your special chocolate chip cookies?" Stiles hinted when Kira came out of the bathroom.

"I, uh, I haven't made them yet," Kira replied. "This way you get them fresh out of the oven." She went to the kitchen and started making them. She tried not to think about her parents when she was making them, but she got about halfway through before she caved and broke down crying on the floor. She was feeling so many different emotions: she was angry at her dad, heartbroken about her mom, stressed about the wedding, worried about Derek, she just couldn't deal with everything all at once.

"Kira? Are you okay?" Allison called, craning her neck to see her.

"Yeah," Kira cleared her throat. "I just dropped something." She sniffed and wiped the tears off her face before she stood up and continued mixing the dough. She looked up at Derek when she felt him watching her and shot him a terse smile. She tried to focus on the chatter around the table while she put the first pans into the oven. She needed _something_ to distract her. While the cookies baked, she started to wash the dishes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Derek whispered from behind her as he snaked his arms around her waist. He gently kissed her neck. "I can ask them to leave if you want."

"I can handle it," Kira mumbled, leaning her head back against Derek's shoulder. "It's just… thinking about my mom…" she could feel tears welling in her eyes, "I don't want to believe it, but I know it's true." Derek tightened his arms around her.

"I'm right here for you," Derek assured her. "Just let me know when you want them to leave." He pressed another kiss to her shoulder before he went back to the table.

Once all of the cookies had finished baking, Kira went and took a seat next to Derek at the table. She wrapped her hand around his arm and rested her head against his bicep. She felt guilty, she knew she wasn't going to be much fun tonight. She wasn't in the mood to play games, but she was happy to watch. From the looks of it, the game they were playing involved randomly flipping over cards.

Kira nearly fell asleep a few times, but she was always jolted awake by someone laughing or poking her side. After the third time, she gave Derek a look and he knew that she was ready for everyone to go home. She said goodbye to everyone, and when Derek was ushering them out the door, she heard someone ask what was wrong with her and Derek responding that she was going through some "personal stuff." Kira appreciated how accommodating Derek was, even though she knew that he was about as exhausted as she was.

She still felt like she could burst into tears at any moment, so she crawled into bed and curled herself into a ball facing toward the wall. Derek got into bed with her and held her close to him. Kira rolled over and pressed her face into his chest. She couldn't hold the tears back anymore. It hurt him to see her like this and he wished that he could do something to help her. He listened to her ragged breathing until it evened out and he knew that she was asleep.

The next morning, Derek woke up before Kira for the first time since he'd started practicing his abilities. He lay beside her, watching her sleep until her eyes fluttered open. "Morning," Derek smiled when their eyes met.

"Good morning," Kira murmured. When Derek started to get up, she grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her. "Just a little longer," she said, snuggling into his chest.

Derek pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We can stay here however long you want," he mumbled into her hair. He closed his eyes and held her close. They both fell asleep for a little while. The next time he opened his eyes, Kira was in the kitchen making pancakes. He eased himself out of bed and walked over to give Kira a light kiss on the cheek. "So, what do you want to do today?" he asked as they ate breakfast.

"Well, I have a fitting for my dress, but other than that I have no plans," Kira answered. "You're coming with me, right?"

"To the fitting? I thought it was bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding," Derek replied. "But sure, I'd love to."

"Well, we're not exactly traditional," she laughed. "Or human. Lydia's going to be there too. Maybe you and I could go out for lunch or something afterwards."

Derek agreed and once they'd both finished eating and showering, they went to meet Lydia at the bridal shop. Lydia had been hesitant about Derek seeing the dress, but Kira had insisted. His jaw dropped when he saw Kira walk out of the fitting room. She looked breathtaking. The dress was lacy and knee-length with layers of tulle. "Kira," Lydia gasped, "you look beautiful."

"Thanks," Kira grinned and twirled around. "Derek?"

"I… y…you look absolutely stunning," he sputtered. He couldn't stop himself from rushing over to her and passionately pressing their lips together. He pulled away when Lydia cleared her throat.

"I'm really happy for you," Lydia told him when Kira went back into the fitting room. "You're really good together."

"Thanks," Derek nodded. "It was a little unexpected, but she makes me better." When Kira came out of the fitting room again, they said goodbye to Lydia and put the dress in the trunk. "So, I was thinking, if you wanted, we could go to that restaurant that just opened and then we could go to the aquarium or something," Derek suggested as he started the car.

"Sure, that sounds great," Kira responded. When they got out of the car at the restaurant, Kira grabbed Derek and hid behind him. "My dad's right there," She whispered. "The man in blue." Her dad was walking towards them on the sidewalk.

"Here, come on," Derek ushered her into the restaurant, angling his body so Mr. Yukimura couldn't see her. They took a seat as far away from the windows as possible. "Are you okay?" he asked, holding her hand across the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just really don't want to talk to him today," Kira explained. "I feel bad for ignoring him and being mad at him, but I don't think I'll be able to forgive him for what he did."

"You're allowed to be mad at him, Kira," he assured her. He was about to say something else when his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Derek. Where are you?" It was Scott.

"I'm out for lunch with Kira, why?" Derek responded.

"I really need to talk to you. Both of you," Scott insisted. "Come over as soon as you can."

"What's this about? Why can't you just tell me over the phone?" Derek asked.

"Just come. Soon," Scott said before hanging up.

"Scott wants to talk to us," Derek told Kira as he put his phone back in his pocket. "He didn't say why." It didn't take long for them to eat their lunch and get to Scott's house. When they walked in, Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Stiles were sitting solemnly at the table. "What's going on?" Derek wanted to know, searching their faces for clues.

"Just take a seat," Scott demanded. Kira and Derek exchanged confused glances before they slowly sat down across from the others. They waited expectantly for Scott to continue. "I need to know what's going on. You've both been acting strange lately and this morning I saw a man asking people if they knew where he could find Kira. I'm just a little concerned."

Kira looked at Derek, she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She didn't know what to tell them. She couldn't tell them the whole story, but she had to say something. She took a deep breath. "The real reason I came to Beacon Hills was because I was no longer safe where I was. Because of my parents' 'career,' they've made a lot of powerful enemies. A group of them had captured us and my dad escaped. Our captors said that if my dad wasn't back within 24 hours, they were going to kill me and my mom. She, uh… she helped me escape and told me not to come back, so I came here. The man asking about me is my dad. I saw him yesterday and he confirmed that my mom…" her voice broke. Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulder for support. "My dad wants me to act like everything's okay, but I can't. I don't want to see him. It's his fault that my mom's dead," She didn't care about the tears streaming down her face.

Allison walked around the table and gave Kira a warm hug. "Do you want us to tell him to leave?" She offered. "We'll help you in any way we can."

"We can make sure he doesn't get to you again," Scott squeezed her hand gently and gave her a compassionate smile.

"I don't know," Kira sniffed. "I'll talk to him and tell him to leave, but would you guys come with as moral support?"

"Definitely," Scott nodded. "We'll do whatever we can."

Kira asked if they'd help her find him so they could do it today. She wasn't looking forward to talking to her dad again, but it would be easier with other people there for support. They found him sitting on a bench in the park. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but she felt more confident with Derek and Scott in front of her, Allison and Lydia each held one of her hands, and Stiles was right behind her. "Dad?" Kira called. He stood up and turned around.

"Kira. I've been looking for you, I just…." He started, but Kira cut him off.

"You have to leave," she stated coldly. "I don't want to see you again." Allison squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"But Kira…" He took a few steps toward her but Derek stopped him by putting a hand on his chest.

"Don't," Derek growled. "She said she wanted you to leave," he took a step closer to Mr. Yukimura, "so you'd better go. I don't want to see you around here again," he threatened. Kira's dad stared at him, wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry, Kira," her dad choked out before turning and walking away.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked, putting his hand gently on Kira's shoulder. She nodded and did her best to muster a smile. "Why don't we all go back to my place and watch a movie or something?"

They decided to watch a comedy that none of them had seen before. Kira leaned against Derek, resting her head against his chest. Derek's presence relaxed her, she loved being able to hear the steady beating of his heart and feeling the even rise and fall of his chest. A smile spread across her face when he pressed his lips against her temple.

"So," Derek started when they got home, "about the story you told them about your family…"

"The only part that wasn't true was the reason why they captured us in the first place," Kira supplied. "They were hunters. They knew that my mom wasn't human, but they didn't know what a kitsune is. They had no clue about me and that's how my mom wanted to keep it, that's why she told me to run."

"Do you think the hunters will try to find you?" Derek sat down beside her.

"I don't know," Kira answered. "But if my dad could find me, I'm sure that professional hunters will be able to."

"Well, I'll be here to protect you if they do come," He put his hand on her knee. "I won't let them get anywhere near you… Kira, I… I love you."

"I love you, too," Kira murmured, pulling Derek close and pressing their lips together.


	6. Chapter 6

Kira had known this day was coming since she was fourteen. She'd dreamed about it countless times, but the reality was much different. The guy in her dreams was always some blonde douche bag who looked like he should be in a crappy boy band. He was always a jerk, there were a few dreams that she remembered where he told her she was fat and left her at the altar. Growing up, she thought that she wanted to be a princess on her wedding day. She thought she wanted a huge church wedding, wearing an extravagant gown, and a big, fancy reception. She'd dreamed of her dad walking her down the aisle and sharing a father-daughter dance. If she was going to have an arranged marriage, she wanted to have a wedding that was over-the-top and traditional.

The real wedding, however, was going to be much different. They'd elected to get married outside, at one of the most beautiful parks Kira had ever seen. Walking down the aisle included a flight of stairs, which would make for a lovely entrance, unless she fell, and she was worried she would. The ceremony was going to be short and sweet, they were going to have a simple meal, and, at Lydia's insistence, a dance.

Kira had spent so much time _imagining _what her future husband would be like, but she'd never imagined it'd be someone like Derek. She was always worried she'd end up with someone that she hated or someone that hated her. When she was fourteen and found out about the marriage, she'd had a _massive _crush on the Jonas Brothers and was convinced that the guy she married would look _exactly _like Nick Jonas. While her idea of the "ideal husband" had changed over the years, Derek was better than anything she could have hoped for. He had all of the attributes shed wanted him to have, he was caring, smart, strong, brave, and funny, but she never knew that she could have such a connection with another person.

From the moment she got into Derek's car, she'd felt a special bond between the two of them. Before she knew that he was the guy she was searching for, the guy she'd been dreaming of, she knew that there was something special about him. They just fit together perfectly, she'd never felt uncomfortable or awkward about him. When he found her hitch hiking, she'd already been on her own for almost a week. She'd spent most of the nights outside, sleeping wherever she could. She'd grown accustomed to waking up alone, somewhere dank and cold, so waking up inn Derek's arms was a pleasant change. He made her feel safe for the first time since she'd left home. He was warm and soft, his voice was smooth and calming. Kira loved listening to his heartbeat and feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath. She knew they would be there for each other, she understood why their parents had arranged for them to be married.

She couldn't believe the day was finally here. Kira took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. She was getting married today. It was the perfect day for an outdoor wedding: sunny with a light breeze, not hot, not cold. She had just stepped into her dress when Lydia came back into the room. "It's almost time to go," Lydia said as she zipped up the dress. "Are you ready?" She offered Kira her hand.

Kira glanced in the mirror one last time before she took Lydia's hand. "Ready," she smiled. She could feel her hands trembling. She didn't know if it was from nerves or excitement, maybe a mixture of the two. She spent the entire drive playing with her dress, her veil, and anything else she could get her hands on. When they got to the park, Kira took a deep breath before she got out of the car. They'd run through everything the night before, but she was still worried she'd trip on the stairs.

"You start walking when the music changes," Lydia reminded Kira, handing her the bouquet before taking her place as the maid of honour.

Kira could feel her heart pounding when Lydia was out of sight. She was ready for this. They were meant to be. Everything would be fine. When the music changed, she sucked in as much air as she could before she started her descent of the stairs. She knew that she should look up and try not to focus on each step, but she couldn't risk falling. When she got to the bottom, she let out the breath she'd unconsciously been holding and looked up.

Derek was the only thing Kira saw when she raised her gaze. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but Derek's were the only ones that mattered. She thought she'd eventually get used to the way her body reacted when he looked at her, or that the reaction would get weaker, but it hadn't. If anything, it had only gotten stronger. He was looking at her like they were the only two people in the world, and, in that moment, they were.

When she reached the end of the aisle, Derek took her hands in his. "You're beautiful," he whispered, squeezing them gently. They didn't break eye contact for the entire service. Kira didn't pay attention to what the Justice of the Peace was saying until it was time for them to say their vows. Before they had even finished saying "You may now kiss the bride," Kira felt Derek's mouth on hers. He tasted like candy, more specifically, blue raspberry Jolly Ranchers. She giggled against his lips and it didn't take long before he was laughing, too.

They took each other's hand and made their exit. When they reached the top of the stairs, Kira wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a warm, passionate kiss. "I really _do _love you," Derek murmured, his lips brushing hers. "I'm not just pretending because of the prophecy and everything."

"I know," Kira smiled. "I really love you, too." She pressed another kiss to his lips.

"Come on, _Mrs. Hale,_" Derek beamed, "let's go relax for a bit before the reception." He took Kira's hand and led her to the gazebo nearby. He sat down with his legs on the bench and pulled her down onto his lap.

"I wish we weren't having a reception," Kira mumbled, nestling her head into the crook of his neck. "I wish we could just leave for our honeymoon instead."

Derek wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed her tight. "Me too," he said, gently kissing her temple. He smiled when he felt Kira tracing her fingertips along his arm absentmindedly. It was one of the many habits Kira had that Derek loved. He found it calming, her hands seemed to have that effect on him. Whenever he was nervous, worried, stressed, or angry, all she had to do was gently touch his skin and he relaxed. He leaned his head against the cool wood and let his eyes drift shut. He wasn't sure how long they sat there like that before Lydia walked in.

"Hey, lovebirds," Lydia called. "Everyone's waiting for you to start the reception."

"We'll be right there," Kira replied before slowly turning to get up. "C'mon, Derek," she lightly kissed his lips, "let's go." She grabbed his hand and dragged him to his feet.

They casually made their way over to the reception area with their fingers intertwined. People clapped as they took their seats at the head table. Kira thought it was a little bit weird, but they smiled and waved anyway. During dinner, a few of the pack members made toasts and told stories about Derek, which he didn't appreciate as much as Kira did. It was nothing too bad, mostly stories of times he accidentally ran into something or fell over.

When it was time for their first dance, Derek was a little bit nervous. They'd chosen not to do a waltz or any kind of dance that needed _actual _training. The only practice they'd had was the times they danced around the house, usually while Kira was baking. They had picked one of the songs they danced to frequently and decided it would be best if they were just to wing it. All of his nerves vanished when Kira grinned and pulled him onto the dance floor. She was all he could see in that moment, and he didn't care if he looked ridiculous. She was so confident and carefree, it was infectious.

The evening went by quickly, and before Derek knew it, he and Kira were on a plane to Hawaii. They were spending two weeks at "one of the most romantic resorts in the world," according to the brochure. Most of the flight was spent listening to music through shared headphones with Kira resting her head against Derek's shoulder.

When they got to the resort, Derek put the luggage down beside the bed. "So…" he started, "what do you want to do?"

"Well, we could go check out the hot tub right outside our door," Kira suggested, motioning to the deck adjacent to their room. Derek agreed and they quickly changed into their swimsuits. "This is really nice," she mumbled as she sank into the hot water. "We should get a hot tub at home."

"We should," Derek nodded, drawing Kira onto his lap. In that moment, he felt so lucky. Before Kira had shown up, he'd felt a little bit lost, like he didn't know what he was doing with his life. She brought a sense of purpose with her, a secret that helped to give him a sense of direction. While they still didn't know exactly what it was they were supposed to do, at least they were lost together. He wasn't alone anymore.

Kira turned on his lap so they were sitting face-to-face. She planted a chaste kiss on his lips and stood up. "Let's go inside," she smirked, gently pulling on Derek's hand.

As soon as they had closed the door, Derek hungrily attacked Kira's lips with his own. She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, kissing him back with the same level of ferocity. He peppered light kisses along her jaw and on her neck. He could feel her heart pounding as he nipped and licked at the sensitive skin. He let his hands wander over her body, exploring her curves and soft skin. Kira slowly pushed him back onto the bed.

Everything became a tangle of limbs. Derek couldn't tell where he stopped and Kira began. He felt like his body was on fire. He felt his skin come alive where Kira touched him, her skin was hot against his and she was breathing raggedly into his ear. The noises he elicited from her spurred him on. They were perfectly intertwined in a moment of pure bliss.

He collapsed beside her on the bed, chest heaving, legs still tangled together. "I love you," Kira whispered, tenderly caressing his cheek.

Derek wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against his chest. "I love you, too," he murmured. He kissed her forehead softly and let his eyes close. It didn't take long before his breathing had evened out and he fell asleep.

Kira watched him dreaming, a smile on her face. All of the worries she'd ever had about her future husband and having an arranged marriage had disappeared. Nothing in her life had ever felt as perfect as her relationship with Derek. She knew that there would be hardships and trials, but they would get through it together. They'd only known each other for a few months, but Derek already knew her better than anyone else she'd ever met. They just clicked.

When Kira woke up, her heart was pounding and she felt like she couldn't breathe. "Kira? Are you okay?" Derek's voice seemed to echo. She blinked hard as she sat up, looking around. She took deep breaths until her heartbeat slowed. "Are you alright?" Derek asked again, eyes full of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she told him. "It was just a nightmare, I'm okay."

"Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?" He took her hands in his.

"It was just a silly nightmare, that's it," she assured him.

"Okay," Derek nodded. "You stay here, I'm going to get us breakfast." He kissed her cheek before he left the room.

Kira let herself flop backwards onto the pillow. She couldn't close her eyes without replaying the nightmare. She didn't remember all of it, but she could still feel the heat of the fire and smell the blood in the air. There were flashes of Derek and the rest of the pack, screaming in pain. She tried to help them, but she was stuck. The last thing she saw before she opened her eyes was the face of someone familiar, someone terrifying. She tried to push the dream aside, tried to ignore the queasy feeling in her stomach, but she couldn't pretend it didn't mean anything. She knew what it meant.

They were coming for her.


	7. Chapter 7

When Derek walked in with a tray full of breakfast foods, Kira tried to push the thoughts of the nightmare out of her head. She didn't want to dwell on it and let it ruin their honeymoon. If the hunters were trying to find her, they would. There was no stopping them, and she knew that. If they came to Beacon Hills, they'd find the entire pack, they wouldn't stop with her. She should have told the pack the truth about her family right away, she shouldn't have lied to them. It made sense at the time, and she knew that they had to lie to protect their secret, but she couldn't help but feel like they'd put more people at risk. _She'd _put more people at risk.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Derek asked as they ate their breakfast outside on the deck. "You're being really quiet."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, mustering a smile. "So, what do you want to do today?" she tried to change the subject.

"Kira, I know you're not fine," Derek replied, taking her hand in his. "I can smell the anxiety on you. What's wrong?"

"It feels like the nightmare I had was more than just a nightmare," Kira mumbled. She stared at their hands, avoiding eye contact. "It feels different, like a warning. They're coming for me, Derek. They're going to find me, find _us._ All of us. Scott, Lydia, Boyd, Erica, Liam, Isaac… they're all in danger because of _me._ We have to tell them the truth," she decided, her gaze meeting Derek's. "We have to tell them. Maybe not about the prophecy and everything, but we have to tell them about me."

"Okay," Derek nodded. "We'll tell them right when we get back, alright? Unless you want to go back early…"

"No," Kira shook her head. "No, I don't want to ruin our trip. We can just check in with everyone, make sure everything's okay, then when we get back we'll invite them over for dinner and tell them the truth… Now, let's go learn to surf," she said, pulling Derek back into the room where they put on their swimsuits, still damp from the night before.

They spent the rest of the day by the ocean. After attempting to surf, they laid on the beach. They were close enough that the water lapped at their feet, begging them to come back into the warm ocean. Derek took Kira into his arms and rushed into the waves. She shrieked as the water splashed over them, laughing and demanding to be put down. Derek obliged, setting her down gently. He tenderly pushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He leaned down and captured Kira's lips in a passionate kiss, his hand cupping her cheek. They pulled apart when a wave splashed over them, nearly knocking Kira over.

When they went back to their room later that evening, they took a quick shower to wash the sand and salt water off of them before they crawled into bed. Kira snuggled against Derek's side, her arms around his torso as he flipped through the channels on the TV, trying to find a movie for them to watch. He finally chose one, knowing that they would both fall asleep before it was over. He put his arm around Kira, pulling her closer to him as he settled back to watch the movie.

Derek was startled awake by Kira thrashing around, the movie he'd selected still playing on the TV. He could feel her heart pounding and her face was screwed up tight. "Kira," he murmured. "Kira, wake up," he ran his hand along her back, trying to calm her down. She woke up, her eyes open wide with fear, her breathing ragged. "Are you okay?" he helped her sit up so she could breathe better.

"Yeah," she panted. "It was just a nightmare."

"The same one?" he asked, his hand rubbing circles on her back. She shook her head no. "What happened? What was it about?"

"It… it was just about you. The hunters… they had you tied down onto a table and they were torturing you," Kira closed her eyes tight, not wanting to think about the rest of it. "Y…you were looking at me for help, but I couldn't do anything. Then they… they cut out your heart and I…" her voice broke and sobs wracked her body.

"Shhh," Derek soothed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her onto his lap. "It's okay, we're okay." He rocked her back and forth, cradling her against his chest. "We're going to be okay." He kissed her hair as the tremors running through her body began to cease. "I'm not going to let anything happen to anyone. We'll be okay," he cooed.

"If anything happens to anyone, it's _my _fault," she whispered. "If they get hurt, if _you _get hurt, it's my fault." Kira looked at Derek with tear-filled eyes, "Maybe I should have just left you alone… then you wouldn't have to worry about any of this."

Derek bowed his head, resting his forehead against hers. "If you would have left me alone, I'd be lost," he told her earnestly. "I would rather be in danger with you than safe without you. You're safer with me, I can protect you. I'm not going to let anyone lay a finger on you." He gently kissed the tip of her nose. "We're going to be alright. All of us. I promise."

Kira wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and buried her face in his shoulder. He lay back on the pillows and enveloped her in a reassuring hug. He knew that she was still worried, but he felt her breathing even out and her heartbeat slow down as she drifted off to sleep. Derek followed, lulled asleep by the steady beating of her heart and the rise and fall of her chest.

When Kira woke up the next morning, Derek was still sleeping. Her heart was pounding because of yet another nightmare. She slowly peeled her body from Derek's side and slipped out onto the deck for some fresh air. Each of her nightmares seemed to be worse than the one before, certain aspects of each one sticking to her senses. This time, she could feel her skin tingling where she'd been cut in the dream. One long gash along her arm, one on her stomach. In the dream, they'd slit her throat before stabbing her in the chest. She needed to repeatedly remind herself that it wasn't real, that it was just a dream.

She couldn't take it, she needed to call someone to make sure everyone was okay. She crept back into the room and grabbed her cell phone. Derek was still asleep when she closed the door behind her. Kira looked at the time, it would already be 10 a.m. in Beacon Hills, Lydia would definitely be awake. "Hey, Kira," Lydia said when she answered the phone. "How's the honeymoon going?"

"Hey, Lyd, It's been really good so far," Kira replied. "So… how are things in Beacon Hills? Nothing… strange… has happened?"

"Not that I know of," Lydia answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Kira responded, looking up when she heard the door open. "Uh… Derek's awake now, so I've got to go, but I'll talk to you soon," she told Lydia before hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Derek asked, sitting down in the chair opposite Kira.

"Lydia. I just needed to make sure things were alright," she explained.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Derek's eyes searched her face. She nodded and he stood up before kneeling in front of her. "Are you sure you don't want to go home? We can go on a vacation once all of this is cleared up," he assured her.

"Okay," Kira sighed. "I'm sorry, I just…"

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart," Derek interrupting, kissing her forehead as he got to his feet. "It's not your fault. We'll get this all sorted out, don't worry." He went inside to make arrangements for them to leave that day.

Kira felt guilty, she didn't want to ruin their honeymoon, but she knew that she wouldn't have been able to get her mind off of it. She sat overlooking the ocean until Derek came to get her. He'd managed to get everything sorted out and pack up their bags. Their flight was leaving in an hour and a half, so they went straight to the airport.

On the flight back to Beacon Hills, Kira didn't say a word. She didn't dare trying to fall asleep again, she didn't want to have another nightmare. Derek had his arm wrapped around her, tracing light circles on her should. When they got home, Derek sent Scott a text to see what he was doing. Scott replied and said that he and Allison were at home, so Kira and Derek drove over to talk to them. Kira was nervous about telling the entire pack, so they'd decided to talk to Scott about it first.

Kira tentatively knocked on the door. It opened to a surprised Scott. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you were in Hawaii."

"We need to talk to you," Derek answered. "It's important."

Scott ushered them in and they sat down on the couch. "So, what is it? Why did you need to come home from Hawaii so early?"

Derek and Kira exchanged glances before Kira replied, "I lied to you. I feel awful about it," she paused for a minute before adding, "My parents _don't _protect supernatural creatures. My mom was killed by hunters and now they're after me because I'm… I'm a thunder kitsune, one of three in existence. I didn't tell you before because I didn't know if it was safe. I thought that the less you knew, the better. I'm really sorry." She looked down at her hands.

"Hunters? Do you remember their names? Maybe my dad can help," Allison suggested.

"Yeah," Kira cleared her throat. "They're German, I believe. Their last name is Warkentin."

"And they know that you're a thunder kitsune?" Scott questioned.

Kira shook her head, "No. They know that I'm a kitsune, like my mother, but there are different types. They don't know the specifics. Thunder Kitsune are the rarest, and I really don't want to know what they'd do to me if they found out."

"Okay… but that still doesn't explain why you needed to come home from Hawaii," Scott pointed out.

"Well, Kira kept having these nightmares," Derek supplied, wrapping his arm around Kira. "She felt like they were more than just dreams, and they kept getting worse. I trust her with my life, and if her instincts told her that something was wrong, I'm not going to ignore it. We both knew that we needed to come back and warn you."

Scott nodded, "Makes sense. And Kira," he gently put his hand on her arm. "You don't need to feel guilty or apologize for not telling us right away. I completely understand. We're going to do everything we can to keep you safe." Scott's eyes darted from Derek's face to Kira's after Allison excused herself to call her dad. "Do you think we should tell the others?" The question was directed more towards Derek.

"I think we should wait and see what Allison comes back with, see if Argent knows anything about these hunters. I think it's up to Kira to decided whether or not she wants everyone to know about her," Derek answered, shifting the focus onto Kira.

"I'm tired of lying," Kira sighed. "I trust everyone in the pack, we can tell them the truth." She leaned up against Derek, exhausted. It took a lot of mental energy to push away the images from her dreams, the images of pack members torn apart, tattered, broken. She could still feel where she'd been cut in the last nightmare, the skin in those areas felt hot and itchy.

"My dad knows them," Allison announced as she came back into the room. "Apparently they used to only hunt vampires, but recent generations have expanded to hunt any supernatural creature they come across. My dad was surprised when I asked about them because they called him a few days ago to ask if there was anything unusual going on in Beacon Hills. He said he had things under control, but by the sounds of it, they're coming. Kira, do you know anything else about them?"

"They're ruthless," Kira answered. "They'll do whatever it takes to get someone to talk, they don't have any problems with hurting or killing anyone. Their methods can be… unconventional… at times. If they catch me, it's going to be worse than if they catch any of you. I escaped once, they're not going to let that happen again."

"What do you mean by unconventional?" Allison asked. She crouched down in front of Kira so she could look into her eyes. "What did they do to you?"

"They… they prey on human fears… fears that every woman has dealt with," Kira said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked away from Allison as tears stung her eyes. Allison gasped, her eyes going wide before she wrapped her arms around Kira's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Kira," Allison murmured into her ear. Kira hugged Allison back, unable to stop herself from crying.

Kira wasn't sure how long the embrace with Allison lasted. She knew that it was long, and that Derek and Scott didn't quite know what to do, but it was nice to know that Allison cared about her. It was nice to have a friend she could depend on. Of course, she had Derek, but he provided a different kind of comfort than Allison did.

"Everyone should be here in about thirty minutes," Scott checked his watch after Kira and Allison had pulled apart. "They were coming over for dinner anyway. Do you just want me to order some pizzas?" Allison nodded and he left the room to make the phone call.

When the pack started arriving, everyone's first remark was one of surprise when they saw Derek and Kira sitting on the couch. Kira was sandwiched between Allison and Derek, each of them holding one of her hands. Everyone sat awkwardly in the living room, waiting for others to arrive. They could tell that _something _was up, otherwise Derek and Kira would still be in Hawaii. Stiles was the last one to arrive. When he came in he was babbling about hitting something with his Jeep, but he stopped short when he saw Kira. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked, noticing her tear-stained cheeks. "Aren't you two supposed to be on your honeymoon?"

"Just sit down, Stiles," Scott instructed. Stiles did as he was told, sitting as close to Kira and Derek as he could. Scott took a deep breath before starting, "We have something really important to tell you."


	8. Chapter 8

Kira breathed a sigh of relief after she finished saying her piece and Scott began talking again. She was nervous about telling everyone. She wasn't sure how they'd react and she was too nervous to look at their faces to see. Most of the pack members' attention had shifted back to the alpha, who was telling them everything he knew about the hunters and what else was happening, but Kira could still feel Stiles' eyes on her. She glanced over at him, making eye contact in hopes he'd look away, but he just kept staring at her in concern.

She decided to ignore him and turned her attention back to Scott. She relaxed and leaned against Derek, resting her head on his shoulder. Her hand was still in Allison's, a quiet reassurance that she would be there for her. Between Derek and Allison, Kira felt a little less nervous about the situation than she had previously. She was still afraid of the hunters and what might happen, but something about their presence made it seem like it might all be okay.

There were still some unanswered questions after Scott had finished. "So what do we do?" Liam asked. "And are they only after Kira?"

"Well," Scott answered, "right now they only know about Kira and they're looking for her specifically, but from the sounds of it, they won't hesitate to hunt down the rest of us, too."

"So we need to protect her," Stiles interjected. "We have to do whatever we can to make sure she's safe."

"I don't want any of you to get hurt because of me," Kira protested. "If something were to happen, I "

"You're part of our family now, Kira," Scott interrupted. "We care about you. We're not going to let anyone hurt you. We're going to keep you safe."

Derek wrapped his arms around Kira and held her tight. "We're here for you. _I'm _here for you," he told her. She could feel his warm breath against her ear. "I'm going to protect you. I'm not going to let them touch you." Kira nodded reluctantly. She had to accept that they were going to help her no matter what she said.

Kira had a hard time paying attention to the rest of the conversation. While they were coming up with a plan, she couldn't stop the _what if_'s that were racing through her mind. What if someone got hurt, what if someone was killed, what if someone was tortured, what if _everyone_ was killed… it would all be her fault. What if she would have just stayed away? Everyone would be safer.

/

It had been almost a week since Kira had told the pack the truth and so far nothing had happened. Allison's dad had called the hunters again and they were definitely in town, but they were keeping a low profile. Kira hadn't left the house for days. If she needed something, someone else always went to get it for her. She was always around people. Derek set an alarm so he woke up before she did, and at least one pack member came over at 9 a.m. daily. It was getting to be a little exhausting.

Surprisingly, she woke up before Derek's alarm. She crawled off the foot of the bed and quickly disabled it. Derek deserved to get a lot more rest than he'd been getting recently. They were still practicing his avi-wolf abilities in secret, which usually meant late at night, after everyone had _finally _gone home. Kira knew that it took quite a toll on his body, and the added stress from their current situation was not helping. She quietly looked through the dresser for a pair of shorts, pulling them on before going into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. It was early enough that she'd be able to watch the sun rising, so she took it onto the balcony and sat on one of the chairs, her knees pulled up to her chest.

The air was a little chillier than she'd expected, but it wasn't long until she felt the warm rays of sunlight on her skin. This was the most time she'd had to herself in the past week. It was incredibly relaxing. Derek hadn't even wanted her to go out on the balcony alone. He was worried someone would grab her from there. Kira had pointed out that it wasn't likely to happen and he eased up a little bit. She understood that he was worried about her and wanted her to be safe, she felt the same way about him, but having people around her all the time made her feel like a child.

She wasn't sure how long she was out there before she heard the glass door slide open and felt Derek's warm hands on her shoulders. "Good morning," he mumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before taking a seat on the chair next to her.

"Morning," she smiled. "How'd you sleep?"

"It was okay," Derek replied. "My alarm didn't go off this morning," he gently poked her in the ribs, "you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"No way," Kira scoffed. "You probably just turned it off in your sleep or something," she teased. "Ugh, nine already?" she groaned when there was a sharp knock at the front door. She trudged inside to answer it. "Hey, Stiles," she did her best to smile as she ushered him in.

"Morning, Kira," Stiles grinned. "Where's Derek?"

"Out on the balcony," she answered. "You can join him if you want. I'm going to take a shower." As Kira walked towards the bathroom, she heard Stiles mutter under his breath that he'd rather join her. She pretended that she didn't hear it and closed the door behind her. Boy, did she need a long, hot shower.

Kira stayed in the shower for as long as she could, but it stopped being pleasant when the hot water ran out. Both guys were in the kitchen when she emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, her wet hair pulled back into a slick ponytail. "Hi," Derek greeted her with a chaste kiss when she joined them. "So, I have to go pick up a few things. Stiles is going to stay here with you, okay?" She knew that by "a few things" he meant things from the vault, probably something he needed for practice tonight.

"Yeah, sure. Just don't be too long," Kira replied. It's not that she minded Stiles, she just didn't like being alone with him for prolonged periods of time. Derek gave her another quick kiss before he grabbed his keys and headed out the door. "Did you already have breakfast?" she asked Stiles after Derek was gone.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "I'm good."

"Okay… well, I have some cleaning to do, so if you want you can go do whatever you want," she told him before getting to work emptying the dishwasher. She could still feel him watching her, and she was getting a little tired of it. "Is there something I can help you with, Stiles?" She turned to face him.

"No, I'm okay," Stiles replied, shaking his head.

"Can you go be okay somewhere else?" Kira snapped. "Sorry," she added, "I just need a bit of space.

He apologized and retreated to the living room, leaving her to work in peace. Kira had just put a pan of cookies into the oven when there was another knock at the door. She glanced at the time, it wasn't even eleven o'clock yet. They weren't expecting anyone else to show up until the afternoon, so she was a little hesitant as she made her way to the door. At that moment, she really wished they had a peephole or something in the door so they could see who was on the other side. Her breath caught in her throat as she carefully opened the door. When she couldn't see anyone there, she closed it as quickly as she could, frantically trying to lock it. But before she could, they had opened the door. Then everything went dark.

/

When Derek opened the front door he was greeted by the smell of cookies burning in the oven. '_Something's wrong,_' he thought instantly. In the months they'd been together, Kira had never burnt anything. She was forgetful, but not when it came to baking. He rushed into the kitchen to find it empty, a bowl of cookie dough on the counter and the pan burning in the oven. "Kira?" he called, hoping she'd be there. "Stiles?" He turned off the oven and took the cookies out so they wouldn't burn down the entire building. He was walking towards the balcony when he saw it. Blood.

There was a pool of blood on the carpet in the living room. It was a substantial amount and made him more eager to find Kira. He heard something coming from the bathroom and ran in to find more blood. "Kira?" Derek yelled. He pulled back the shower curtain to find Stiles, bound up and gagged. "Where is she?" he demanded as he helped Stiles out of his binds.

"I… I don't know. They just came in and took her. I tried… I tried to stop them, but they said they'd kill her if I didn't stop. One of them knocked me out and threw me in the shower," Stiles babbled. "I'm sorry."

"Is this her blood? Derek asked urgently.

"I… I don't know," Stiles replied. "Some of it might be mine, but they'd cut her up pretty badly."

"Okay, okay," Derek took a deep breath. "Did you hear them say anything else?"

"Uh… I heard them say that she was going to join her mom. Then they said something about her dad telling them everything. And there was something about you. They thought I was you at first, and they were gonna kill me, but when they found out I wasn't they just tied me up instead," Stiles recalled. "What do they want with you?"

Derek closed his eyes and took another shaky breath. "I don't know," he lied. "You need to call Scott. Tell them that they have her," he instructed. "I'm going to see if I can catch Kira's scent. Tell Scott to call me when he has a plan." Stiles nodded and he bolted outside.

Derek wanted to believe that he'd be able to find her easily, but he had a sinking feeling in his chest. He shouldn't have left her alone with Stiles, of all people. He should've waited until Malia was there that afternoon. At least she would've been able to do something. If they killed Kira before he could get to her, he didn't know what he'd do. Although, he suspected that if they knew about the prophecy they'd want to keep her alive until they found him. '_It's okay. Kira's a fighter,_' he told himself over and over. She'd be okay. She had to be okay.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been trying to find her when his phone rang. "Scott?"

"We have a plan," Scott replied. There was no time for pleasantries. We got Allison's dad to call the Warkentins and pretend that he wanted to meet them, so they gave him their address. We're not sure if that's where they brought her, but we're hoping it is, so we're going to follow him there. He'll give us a signal whether it is or isn't and if it is, we'll break in and get her." He gave Derek the address and told him to be in the area in about half an hour.

/

Kira woke up to complete and utter darkness. The pitch black was suffocating and it felt like it consumed all of her senses. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and tried using something other than sight to figure out where she was. It felt like she was on some kind of metal table, bound by thick, rusty chains. Instinctively, she tried yelling for help, but she realized she was gagged. There was no one around, even the hunters were somewhere else. It was absolutely silent. There were no street sounds or sounds of nature. She didn't have any clues to tell her where she was.

She struggled against the chains and her whole body ached. A burning sensation spread throughout her arm before she felt something warm and wet sliding down the delicate skin. It was blood. She was bleeding. '_This is it,_' she thought, tears stinging her eyes. '_I'm going to die._'

A few minutes later, Kira heard a loud clanging, followed by a bright flash of light. She screwed her eyes shut, her heart pounding. They were going to kill her. She could hear three, maybe four people coming down a set of metal stairs, not even bothering to try to keep the volume down. This place must be somewhere remote. When she could finally see, she caught a glimpse of two large men the ones who'd come to her house. She heard them laughing as they dropped something onto what sounded like another metal table. It was followed by the clinking of chains. They were tying someone up. Who had they taken?

She closed her eyes when they started to walk her way, not wanting them to know she was awake. They'd rolled the other table so it was beside her. She wanted to look, but she knew that she couldn't as long as they were there.

"I wonder how long this bitch'll be out," one of the men mused.

"I gotta way to find out," the other responded. Kira felt his presence looming over her before she felt the blinding pain of a knife being stuck in her side. She couldn't stop herself from crying out as he dragged the blade all the way down to her hip, creating a huge gash. "She ain't out anymore," he said as he leaned over Kira with a wicked grin on his face.

Kira was struggling to steady her breathing, willing her body to start healing. She didn't know how much blood she'd already lost, but she probably couldn't afford to lose much more. She could feel the men watching her and hear them laughing at her pain. Anger welled up in the pit of her stomach. She'd never felt as much hatred as she did towards those two men. They were the ones who had killed her mother. They'd probably done it with a grin on their face. They probably thought it was hysterical.

The anger inside of her made her determined to get free. Someone would find her. They had to. And when they did, her first order of business would be getting revenge on these awful people.

When the men finally started to walk away, Kira quickly stole a glance at the table beside her. She felt a lump growing in her throat. Oh no. No. No, it couldn't be.

Allison.


	9. Chapter 9

The hunters knew everything. They knew about the prophecy, they knew that Derek was an avi-wolf, that Kira was a thunder kitsune, and now there was a much higher chance that they knew about the others too. Derek wasn't sure if he should just come clean about everything and tell them the truth. Tell them about the arranged marriage, the prophecy, his newfound abilities. He didn't know what would be safer, knowing or not knowing. It plagued his thoughts as he made his way to the address that Scott had given him.

The address ended up being an old warehouse in the run-down part of town. When Derek met everyone a few blocks away, they'd decided it would be best to split up. Each person would cover one of the entrances and watch who was going in or coming out. They all went to their designated areas and waited for Chris Argent to give them the signal.

Derek was in charge of the back entrance. From where he was waiting, he could see a group of people through one of the windows. There were nine of them that he could count, which would mean trouble if they were all hunters. It was a lot more than he or anyone else had anticipated. He watched them all carefully, wishing he could hear what they were talking about. He wondered if they were talking about Kira. Or if they were talking about him. They all straightened up and smiled and Derek could see that Argent had entered the room. Everyone shook his hand politely before they moved to a different room, out of Derek's sight.

Not being able to see them made him much more nervous than he'd been before. He waited anxiously for his phone to buzz, hoping Kira was there. When it finally did, his heart sank. There was a two word text message: _not here._ As he made his way back to the rendezvous point, he tried to think of a place they could be keeping her. If she wasn't there, where was she?

"Where's Allison?" Scott asked once everyone had gathered. No one had seen her so Derek and Scott went to check if she was just slower than everyone else or if she hadn't gotten the text for some reason. They couldn't find her anywhere, but when they got to the spot where she'd been waiting, they found her cell phone on the ground. "Do you think they took her?" Scott turned to Derek, clearly worried.

"I don't know," Derek shook his head. "But it seems likely."

"We need to find them," Scott insisted.

Derek was about to reply when there was a stabbing pain in his side. He was nearly doubled over in pain, his breathing ragged. The pain was gone as quickly as it had come on. When he righted himself, Scott was looking at him in concern, "What was that?"

"I don't know," Derek replied, absentmindedly playing with the ring on his left hand. He thought it felt different for some reason and when he looked down he saw that the normally gold ring had turned black. What was it that the letter had said? "_... These rings will only help your bond grow."_ He had a feeling he knew what was happening, but he hoped he was wrong. He hoped he was very wrong.

/

It was hard for Kira to tell how much time had gone by in the stifling darkness. She could tell that her body wasn't healing as quickly as it normally did. The cut on her arm was almost completely healed, but the gash in her side had barely begun to heal. Thick blood still oozed down her skin. She didn't know how much blood she'd lost before she was put down here, but she knew she couldn't afford to lose much more. She could feel that her blood pressure was getting low and she felt lightheaded even though she was lying down. But maybe that was why her external wounds weren't healing as quickly. Maybe her body was trying to make sure she had enough blood. Or maybe time was passing more slowly than she thought.

Kira was getting increasingly worried about Allison. She hadn't heard any noise coming from the table next to her. No movement. Nothing. All Kira could do was hope that she was still alive. She had to be. If Allison was dead, Kira didn't know what she would do with herself. It would be her fault.

Before Kira knew what was happening, blinding light filled the room. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage. She didn't want to know what they'd do to her this time. Her entire body tensed up in fear as she listened to whoever it was descend the metal stairs. There was only one set of footsteps this time. They were a lot quieter and lighter than the two that had come down before. Kira opened her eyes nervously and saw a small red-headed woman watching her from across the room. There was no way Kira had forgotten this woman. Irena.

"How nice of you to join us," Irena smiled as she walked towards Kira. If you didn't know her, Irena looked like she could actually be a nice person. But looks are deceiving. She roughly grabbed the gag that was stuffed in Kira's mouth. "I'm going to take this off," she told her, "there's no use in screaming. No one's going to hear you." Irena picked up one of the knives that was lying nearby and cut the fabric.

Kira gasped for air, relishing the sense of freedom. "What do you want with me?" she panted, doing her best to mask the fear and pain she was currently feeling.

"Oh, sweetie, I think you know," Irena cooed into her ear. "We're going to kill you, just like we killed your mommy."

"Then do it already," Kira spat.

"Pretty baby, so brave," Irena laughed, caressing Kira's cheek with the tip of the knife. "We can't kill you yet. See, before we killed your daddy, he told us a whole bunch of interesting information about you. We know about your little boy toy and we're waiting for him to come out of hiding so we can get to him. We hear you're quite the power couple and we want to see how it works," she explained with a sly smile before she plunged the knife through Kira's palm. Kira couldn't help but cry out at the immense pain radiating from her hand.

"So if you want him," Kira grunted, "why did you take her?" She motioned towards Allison with her head.

"Revenge, mostly. And boredom a little bit, too," Irena sighed. "Her father was trying to stop us, and we can't have that. But enough chit chat, sweet cheeks. I'm going to sit down and you're going to tell me a story about a prophecy and a certain wolf named Derek. Make this easy on yourself, just tell me what his abilities are and I won't hurt you."

"Never," Kira growled defiantly.

"We'll see about that," Irena smirked as she pulled the blade out of Kira's hand. She dragged the tip of the blade along Kira's forearm, creating a trail of blood before she thrust it into the soft skin of her elbow. Kira let out a cry through gritted teeth, laughing to keep from sobbing as she tried to regain her composure.

/

Derek needed to find a way to get away from the rest of the pack so he could look through the vault for any information on the rings. He still wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell everyone the truth about everything, but he also felt bad keeping it from them. They deserved to know the truth. But before that, he needed to know how much the hunters knew. "Stiles, what _exactly_ did the hunters say when they took Kira?" he asked.

"Well, they said that she was going to be with her parents," Stiles answered. "When I tried to get them to leave her alone they turned on me and kept asking me if I was you. They demanded to know about a prophecy and they kept telling me to show them my powers. I told them that I wasn't you and that I didn't know what they were talking about and then they knocked me out and put me in the bath tub, I guess."

"Prophecy? Powers?" Scott repeated. "What were they talking about?" Stiles shrugged and suddenly all eyes were on Derek. "Derek?"

"I " Derek was interrupted by a stabbing pain shooting from his hand. He gritted his teeth and tried not to yell before the pain vanished. He definitely needed to go research the rings.

"Are you okay?" Lydia stood up and took a couple steps towards him.

"Yeah," Derek breathed, "I'm fine."

"Then what was that?" Lydia inquired.

"It was…" he was going to say nothing, but he decided to tell them the truth, "Kira, I think." Realizing that his answer caused more confusion than clarity, he continued, "These rings," he pointed to his wedding band, "were passed down through my family. I don't know much about them, other than the fact that my mother wanted me to have them because they would 'help our bond grow.' I think tha " He grabbed his elbow in agony and waited for the pain to go away. "I think that I'm feeling whatever pain Kira's feeling."

"So before, at the warehouse, that was Kira," Scott mused.

Derek nodded. "We need to find her. Fast."

"Okay, but we still don't know what they meant by prophecy," Boyd pointed out.

"Or powers," Erica chimed in.

Once again, all eyes were on Derek. He knew that he needed to tell them. There was no avoiding it now. "I'm not a 'normal' werewolf," he sighed, unable to meet anyone's gaze. "Apparently, I'm something known as an avi-wolf. They're rare. They only come around once every couple hundred years. After the last one died, there was a prophecy saying that the next avi-wolf would be the most powerful. It said that the reason he would be the most powerful was because he'd be paired with another powerful, rare creature. A thunder kitsune. It said that together they would be practically unstoppable." He looked up and was met by stunned stares.

"How long have you known about this?" Scott asked.

"I've only known about it for a few months," Derek replied sheepishly. "I found out about it because I picked up a hitchhiker who said her name was Kira and she was going to Beacon Hills so she could find Derek Hale. She showed me a letter she got from her mom that was signed by my mom too. So we went to the vault and found mine and things just went from there."

"But I thought you said you were old friends," Stiles interjected.

"We were, but our moms separated us because they thought we'd be safer that way," Derek explained. "Once they could no longer protect us, we were sup " he gasped at the pain in his hip, " posed to protect each other."

"And the powers?" Scott pried.

"Well, there are quite a few, but the only one I can do successfully every time is to make myself invisible," Derek answered. "We haven't even gotten past the basics of flying yet."

Everyone stared at him for a moment before Scott broke the silence, "We can use this as an advantage."

/

When Irena finally left, Kira had a lot more wounds and lost more blood. The last one was the worst. Frustrated that she couldn't make Kira talk, the red-head had cut across her stomach, from her left ribs to her right hipbone. It was gruesome to look at and since Irena hadn't turned off the lights, she could.

Her body would need a long time to repair the damage Irena had done. She was ruthless and unrelenting, unafraid of getting blood on her hands. Kira felt like she might pass out at any moment from the loss of blood. She did everything she could to stay awake, which wasn't much, considering she was chained to a table.

Kira looked over to where Allison lay and saw her eyes flutter open, blinking as she adjusted to the lights. When she got a look at Kira her eyes went wide in horror. She tried to scream but it was muffled by the gag in her mouth.

"Shh," Kira soothed as Allison struggled against the chains. "I'll be okay. We'll be okay," she said calmly, knowing that it might not be true. "We're going to get out of here." She studied the chains and locks, trying to see if there was something she could do to free them. If she could get her arm free, there was a silver tray of dental tools she'd be able to reach. That was something she didn't want to be around for.

Kira wriggled her wrist, trying to slip it past the chains. She slid her entire body up, wincing in pain as she did so. The chains that had been around her ribs were now sitting on top of the gash in her stomach. Her hand was almost free, just a little bit more. She kept pushing, even though her body was tired and screaming for her to stop. After a little more pushing, she managed to get her fingers hooked around the chain. Her hand was at an awkward angle and it hurt like hell but she almost had it. With her teeth clenched to keep her quiet, she pushed against the chain with whatever strength she had left. She heard her wrist crack a little bit, but at least it was free. It was definitely not the worst injury she'd endured that day.

A sigh of relief passed Kira's lips. Getting her hand free had taken more energy than she'd anticipated and part of her just wanted to give up. Her head felt like it was swimming due to the blood loss, but she had to keep going. She felt around for the tray, waiting for her hand to hit it. "C'mon," she muttered under her breath. Finally, she felt it. She dragged it towards her so she could reach the dental pick. It took a little bit of fumbling, but she had it in her hand. They were going to get out.


End file.
